Black American History is American History
Welcome to the 60th installment of This Black-Ass Life. This week, we’re exploring the history and meaning of Black History Month. Also, Dwyane Wade is all of us, Taylor deserves her pink perfect attendance pencil because she didn’t hop over to Canada like Lizzie did and you must (not) watch A Fall From Grace.
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l. The Facts
The movement to officially celebrate Black history dates back to 1915.
Carter G. Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland founded Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) to research Black Americans and people of African descent and highlight Black achievements.
The ASNLH, now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926 to coincide with Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass’ birthdays.
As a reaction to Jim Crow laws and segregation, Freedom schools (free, alternative Black schools designed to combat the poor separate, but equal education provided to Black children), made Black history a key part of their curricula.
After mayors across the US adopted Black history celebrations, Gerald Ford acknowledged it nationally in 1975 and Congress declared Black History Month a national holiday in 1986.
Why does it matter?
“One learns even more by examining what a nation chooses to forget.” - Lonnie Bunch, founding director of NMAAHC
The founding, growth and evolution of America — politically, economically and culturally would be impossible without Black people. There is no America without enslaved Africans and their descendants. Point. Blank.
That we still have to dedicate a whole month just to recognize this simplest of fact is 1) kind of annoying and 2) due to the intentional erasure of Blackness from American history.
Sadly, erasing Black people from American history is only one part of the problem; lying about America’s mistreatment of its Black inhabitants is another. Remember the textbooks from just a few years ago that reimagined enslaved people as “workers,” and the translatic slave trade as “immigration”?
So while we recognize the arguments against contracting Black history and contribution to just one month, BHM gives us a moment every year to celebrate Black resistance and resilience, acknowledge the pain and sacrifice of ancestors, and honor the magic that is the African American experience.
A few of my (Jumoke’s) favorite Black history facts: Jack Daniels learned distilling from an enslaved man named Nearis Green; Benjamin Banneker designed Washington D.C.; and Black soldiers fighting in World War I brought jazz to France.
What can my Black-Ass do?
If you are in D.C., make your way to the Carter G Woodson Memorial Park to pay respects, or go discover or re-discover a Black-ass space. I (Jumoke) will be heading to the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site.
Check out this list from the NAACP on how you can celebrate this month.
Black excellence is wonderful, but also please remember that Black people are wonderful and we’re doing our very best even if we’re not getting accepted into 100 colleges or winning a first-place ribbon. So let’s celebrate that!
ll. Other Things
What are you doing, Terry?
Dwyane is just making a helpful suggestion here.
We needed a mood boost after a very sad week so we decided to watch A Fall From Grace together with popcorn and open hearts. There are spoilers, but you must read Very Smart Bros take on this wonderfully imperfect movie.
The Color Purple will be on the big screen for Black History Month.
Have you seen the Greensboro Sit-In Google Doodle? The Google ad for Black History Month is also incredible, but a sentimental ad can’t make up for the fact that Google still needs to address its aggressively non-diverse staff.
Taylor really had to contend with MESS when Lizzie stole her pink perfect attendance pencil. Now you have a chance to make it right by buying her Girl Scout Cookies. She’s a CEO, y’all!
Y’all remember that Black baby who couldn’t walk at his graduation because of his dreads? Now he’s going to the Oscars. Also watch the Oscar-nominated short Hair Love.
Not Black-ass things, but exhausting happenings of white shenanigans:
Criticisms of America Dirt are right, read Myriam Gurba for a deep dive. The fact that a conservative, white American construct of Mexico and the migrant crisis on the border written by a white woman became a best seller is just so 2020 America and we are exhausted.
Yoga is Dead is one of my (Jumoke’s) favorite podcasts. Produced and hosted by two Desi women, the first episode, “White women killed yoga,” is full of righteous indignation.
Our Black-Ass song(s) of the week (Jumoke):
Reekado Banks is a perennial afrobeat hitmaker who doesn’t get his due. Rora (remix) is the latest in a string of hits. Lavaud is also a wonderful addition to the remix.
Things we are looking forward to / things we are not looking forward to:
I (Jumoke) look forward to Jasmine Guillory’s new book. Mitu introduced me to her very saccharine and always happy ending books and I read three in three weeks.
I (Mitu) look forward to The Photograph. I love a good romance movie, I love love and I love rooting for everybody Black.
lll. Text from a Black-Ass Mama
I (Mitu) come from a Broncos family. In honor of last night’s Super Bowl that I did not watch, check out this throwback text from my mama coping with the Broncos’ loss to the Seahawks in 2014.
Stay Black, thrive and have a happy Black History Month! We’ll hit your inbox next on February 17.